Lomachenko vs. Campbell breakdown: Who has the benefit?
Nick Parkinson
Shut•Experiences on boxing for ESPN.co.uk, in addition to a number of nationwide newspapers
•Has been reporting on British boxing for over 15 years
•Seems on BoxNation’s Boxing Issues present
Vasiliy Lomachenko will attempt to add a 3rd world light-weight title to his assortment when he faces Luke Campbell on the O2 Area in London on Saturday (5 p.m. ET on ESPN+). The world’s finest boxer defends his WBA and WBO belts towards fellow 2012 Olympic gold medalist Campbell, with the vacant WBC title additionally on the road, in the primary occasion of a Prime Rank on ESPN+ card.
How do the fighters match up? What are the possibilities of an upset? ESPN takes a take a look at the matchup.
Abilities, ways
Zero:44
Vasiliy Lomachenko makes straightforward work of Anthony Crolla through fourth-round KO to retain the WBA and WBO titles.
Lomachenko (31-1, 10 KOs), 31, based mostly in Oxnard, California, is rightly considered the world’s most skillful boxer, and attempting to outbox the pound-for-pound No. 1 would appear a futile train.
Campbell, nonetheless, additionally has spectacular boxing IQ and may be thought-about a step up from Lomachenko’s most up-to-date opponent, Anthony Crolla, who was dispatched in 4 rounds in April.
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Saturday, 1 p.m. ET on ESPN+: Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Luke Campbell undercard.
Saturday, four p.m. ET on ESPN+: Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Luke Campbell, 12 rounds, for Lomachenko’s WBO/WBA and vacant WBC light-weight title; Hughie Fury vs. Alexander Povetkin, 12 rounds, heavyweights.
Campbell’s success within the newbie ranks, successful bantamweight gold on the 2012 Olympics, is testomony to his boxing abilities and intelligence, which he has transferred to the paid ranks.
Campbell (20-2, 16 KOs), 31, who’s from Hull in northern England however trains in London, has already proven his abilities are sharp sufficient for the highest stage. In September 2017, the Englishman misplaced a wafer-thin, split-points choice to Jorge Linares for the WBA world title. Campbell was down within the second spherical, however he nonetheless believes he did sufficient to win the battle.
With one other world title shot at hand, Campbell has been cautious to ignore Lomachenko’s split-decision defeat to Mexico’s Orlando Salido — his solely loss thus far, in his second professional battle — as a blueprint to conquering the WBA-WBO world light-weight king.
“Firstly, Lomachenko is not the identical Lomachenko he was towards Salido and, secondly, I am not the identical fighter as Salido or with the identical type, so there’s not a lot you’ll be able to take from it,” Campbell advised ESPN.
When ESPN spoke to Campbell earlier this month, he had not spent hours finding out footage of Lomachenko’s dazzling ability set. As a substitute, he was concentrating on his personal sport plan and sparring with Josh Taylor, the reigning IBF junior light-weight titleholder.
Do not anticipate the Briton to attempt to outbox fellow southpaw Lomachenko — search for him to attempt to spring an upset through different means.
Benefit: Lomachenko
Velocity
Vasiliy Lomachenko is quick and fast, each with punches and actions, and that makes him laborious to hit as effectively. Mikey Williams/Prime Rank
Lomachenko throws punches which might be so quick that it’s generally laborious to trace them, both within the flesh or on tv. Think about attempting to slide and evade these within the ring?
He is not referred to as Hello-Tech for nothing, and the Ukrainian is ready to land photographs from surprising angles — as correct as laser beams — that go away opponents floundering.
“He is very particular — he would not waste a shot,” Campbell’s fellow Englishman Crolla mentioned. “He is even higher than I assumed. His steadiness and his toes are unbelievable, and the angles he picks are simply crazily good.”
Lomachenko’s pace was repeatedly an excessive amount of for Venezuela’s Linares in Could final 12 months, whereas others, corresponding to Puerto Rico’s Roman Martinez, simply didn’t see the knockout blows coming.
Benefit: Lomachenko
Stamina
Britain’s Luke Campbell, proper, gained his most up-to-date bout, towards Adrian Yung, through TKO in Philadelphia in March. Picture By Stephen McCarthy / Sportsfile through Getty Pictures
Lomachenko is an outstanding athlete who’s used to going late into fights, so it’s troublesome to see stamina as an space Campbell can exploit.
The Ukrainian has accomplished the total 12-round championship distance 4 occasions in 14 skilled fights, and there are not any query marks over him operating out of steam.
Campbell additionally has gone 12 rounds on 4 events and threw extra punches when he fought Linares, however he pale late within the battle.
Do not learn an excessive amount of into Campbell’s solely blemish on his document apart from the Linares setback, a split-decision factors defeat to France’s Yvan Mendy in December 2012.
Campbell was shockingly off towards Mendy, however he defined the setback in clear phrases.
“I should not have gotten within the ring that evening towards Mendy,” Campbell mentioned. “All of my physique was aching and weak, and it had been like that every one week. I wasn’t on the races. I want somebody had suggested me to not get within the ring that evening. I used to be a shadow of my former self and it was a tricky lesson, which I did not have to study, however no less than I obtained the victory again over him.
“I had s— preparation for that battle, however I’ve accepted it, beat him in a rematch and moved on. I might simply be 22-Zero, although, as a result of I assumed I beat Linares by two clear rounds and I assumed I might have nicked it towards Mendy.”
Benefit: Lomachenko
Energy
2:58
Vasiliy Lomachenko overcomes being knocked down to complete Jorge Linares within the 10th spherical, successful a title in his third weight class.
Campbell’s finest probability of reaching world fame and happening in historical past with an upset win is to knock out Lomachenko.
Lomachenko’s most vital flaw — maybe the one one — is that he briefly regarded susceptible towards an even bigger man at light-weight towards Linares in Could 2018. The Ukrainian, who started his profession at featherweight, was knocked off his toes for the primary time within the paid ranks by Linares within the sixth spherical. Lomachenko was placed on his bottom by a straight proper hand, however he shortly returned to his toes.
Linares hit Lomachenko greater than he had been hit in different fights, and Campbell will take some coronary heart from that. Nonetheless, it ought to be remembered that Linares was completed by a physique shot within the 10th spherical.
Campbell has proven he is usually a harmful puncher, too, halting two of his previous three opponents since dropping to Linares virtually two years in the past.
“We now have to take it out of the judges’ arms,” Campbell’s coach, Shane McGuigan, mentioned. “After we win rounds we’ve to win them with a giant margin. We now have to dent him with energy — and Luke positively has the ability to dent him.
“How do you negate his pace, capacity and technical prowess? We now have the scale benefit, the ability benefit. We’re not as fast or agile, however we are able to take that away with vary and timing. We now have the power to beat him and even knock him out. This man is not unbeatable, and if there’s one individual, boxing-wise, with the power to match him it’s Luke Campbell, the Olympic gold medalist.”
When Campbell turned skilled, after campaigning on the 2012 Olympics as a bantamweight, few anticipated him to start by stopping 10 of his first 12 opponents. He went from being a beanpole bantamweight, who gained all his fights on the 2012 Olympics on factors, to a deadly light-weight within the skilled ranks.
Beating Lomachenko would rank alongside the largest upsets in British boxing historical past, together with Lloyd Honeyghan’s 1986 conquer Donald Curry and Randolph Turpin outpointing the nice Sugar Ray Robinson in 1951.
Touchdown a knockout towards at present’s finest boxer is Campbell’s finest probability of cementing his place in historical past. However touchdown a decisive massive shot continues to be an extended shot for Campbell.
Benefit: Campbell
Dimension — does it matter?
Luke Campbell, in keeping with BoxRec, has a 2-inch top benefit over Vasiliy Lomachenko. Aaron Chown/PA Pictures/Getty Pictures
Not on the subject of somebody as good as Lomachenko.
Campbell has a big dimension benefit — the Briton is three inches taller with a 6-inch attain benefit — and he’s Lomachenko’s tallest skilled opponent thus far.
Nonetheless, the champion has overcome greater opponents in his earlier three fights.
“He’s tall, he has a giant attain, he is a brilliant boxer and has a excessive boxing IQ,” Lomachenko mentioned.
There’s a restrict to how far Lomachenko can climb by means of the divisions — do not anticipate him to do a Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather — however he has regarded excellent at light-weight towards Crolla, Jose Pedraza and Linares.
Benefit: Lomachenko